Gold-separator.



No. 663,993. Pdtented Dec. l8, I900. I w. w. m. HICKEY.

GOLD SEPABATOR.

(Application filed Apr. 18, 1900.}

(No Model.)

THE uumus PETERS ccmuo'ro-uma. wALmn m, r. l,

UNITE STATES ATENT Fries,

WHITE WOLF M. HICKEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

GOLD-SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 663,993, dated December 18, 1900.

Application filed April 16, 1900. Serial No. 13,053. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beitknown that I,WHITEWOLFM.HICKEY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, in the State of California, have invented an Improvement in Gold-Separators and I hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to an apparatus for separating gold from sand and other material with which it may be associated and means for saving and retaining the gold.

It consists of the parts and the constructions and combinations of parts which I will hereinafter describe and claim.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is an end view of the screen-frame. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a dry washer.

My apparatus may be applied either in wet or dry separation, the construction of the various parts being similar in both cases, except that in one case a current of water is employed, while in the other case I depend upon a blast of air.

In the construction of the apparatus I have here shown a frame A, which serves to support the receiving-hopper 2, into which the auriferous sand or other material is placed and from which it is delivered upon the upper screen 3. This screen is fixed to a suitable frame 4, and in conjunction with it is a second frame 5,which carries an amalgamated plate 6, having transverse riffles 7 fixed across it. These frames 4 and 5, secured together, are suspended by links or hangers 8 from the mainframe A and stand at an incline, so that when given an oscillating or shaking motion, as will be hereinafter described, the material will gradually move down over the screen and the finer material and gold passing through will be delivered upon the plate 6, which, being amalgamated, will retain any gold that may be mixed with the material. The sand or other material passing down is carried over the riffles 7 until it reaches the lower end, where, passing over the lower end of the plate 6, it falls into an inclined trough or chute 9, which is also fixed to move in unison with the parts 4: and 5, all being oscillated together. From the lower end of this chute the material will he delivered upon a revolving silvered or amalgamated drum 10, falling approximately upon the top of the drum, which continues to revolve in a closed tank 11, which is supplied with water, the level of which is at a point near the shaft of the Wheel 10.

12 is an overflow-passage through which the Water passes, so as to maintain the level approximately the same.

At each end of the tank are mounted drums or rollers 13, overwhich passes the endless belt 14. The drums and the belt are driven by sprockets mounted upon the shafts and chains or by suitable belts from the main driving-shaft, as shown at 15. By means of sprockets upon the ends of the drum-shaft 13, the drum 10, and a chain 16 motion is communicated to revolve the silvered or amalgamated drum.

A suitable supply of water is provided by means of a pump operating in the tube or column 17 and actuated by connection with the power-shaft so as to pump the Water up through this column and deliver it through the spray or rose-jet 18 to be mingled with the sand or other material, and thus thin it down and make it sufficiently mobile to pass over the screens and riftles, as before described.

The power for actuating the machine consists of a power-shaft, with suitable pulleys, gears, or other driving devices, as shown at 19, and by means of eccentrics or cranks and connecting-rods 20 the sluic'es 4 and 5, with the inclined chute 9, are reciprocated longitudinally.

21 is a crank, and 22 is apitman connected therewith, and this pitman is pivoted at the outer end with a rod 24, which is fixed to a toothed rack or segment 23. This segment is centrally pivoted and its teeth engage with the teeth of a pinion-wheel 25, which wheel has a crank-pin upon it, and to this crank-pin the connecting-rod of the pump is attached, so that by the rotation of the crank-shaft the pump is operated and water is raised therefrom.

Where the supply of water is scanty, the pipe 17 may be connected so that the pump will draw water directly from the tank 11 and return it again through the screens and sluices.

In order to connect the sluices 4, 5, and 9 together, I have shown them formed with projecting lugs similar to those of the parts of a ICO hinge, and these interlock with each other, as shown at 26, so that a single pin or rod 27 passing through will unite the whole together, and by removing this rod they can easily be separated. The lowerend of the trough 9 rests upon a roller 28, which supports it while allowing it to be reciprocated with the remainder of the reciprocating parts.

The operation of the apparatus will then be as follows: Sandor other auriferous hearing earth or material being delivered upon the upper screen 3, the apparatus being in motion,water will be discharged through the jet or spray nozzle 18 and mixed with the sand, thinning it down so that it will move freely over the screen. Any coarse or worthless material will be discharged over the lower end of the screen, while the finer material and gold mingled therewith will pass through the screen upon the amalgamated plate 6. The riffles on this plate areinclined or sloped, so that while choking the flow of the material they allow it eventually to pass over and gradually reach the lower end. Most of the gold which is mixed with the sand will be caught and retained by this plate, and the sand and other material will pass down toward the end of the plate, which either has an opening or is made enough shorter than the length of its box to allow the material to fall through into the inclined chute 9, which is connected with it. The material continuing to flow passes down this chute and is then discharged upon the top of the silvered or amalgamated cylinder 10, which, being rotated, as previously described, will receive the falling material upon its surface, and the impact will cause any gold which may still be contained therein to adhere to the cylinder. The sand is continually washed off the cylinder as it revolves in the water in the tank 11 and being received upon the endless traveling belt Mis constantly delivered from the outer end of the belt into the discharge-chute 12, passing out with any surplus or overflow of water, if there should be such surplus.

In cases where water cannot be obtained the apparatus is changed to what is termed a dry washer by omitting the water-pipe 17, and in this case the amalgamated plate 6 is finely perforated or made in a screen form to allow air to pass up through it. Beneath the plate is a hinged bottom 30, havinga flexible bellows connection, as shown at 31, and this bottom is connected with the rod 22 from the crank, so that the rotation of the crank-shaft will reciprocate the bellows-bottom, and air being admitted through a suitable valve in the usual manner of such devices will be forced up through the screen-bottom 6, so as to continually agitate the sand and material and cause it to fiow down over the riflies 7 in the same manner as when water is used. The action in this case will be similar--the separating and settling of the gold,which will be retained upon the amalgamated screen-surface. In this case the lower water-tank 11 will be omitted. It found desirable, the final discharge may pass into another sluice and the material delivered thereby to pass over one or more subsequent drums similar to the one shown at 10, so that if any small portion of gold should escape from the first part of the apparatus it would be saved by these drums.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure byLctters Patent, is

1. A gold-separator, including an inclined screen, anamalgamatcd plate belowthe screen and having riflles, a water-tank, a chute connected with the said amalgamated plate and inclined reversely thereto, and an amalgamated drum or cylinder below the discharge end of the chute and receiving material therefrom, a belt submerged within the tank and receiving and conveying away the material discharged from the cylinder, drums at opposite portions of the tank around which the belt passes, and connections between one of the drums and the amalgamated drum for rotating the latter in unison with the movements of the belt.

2. In a gold-separator, the combination of a water-tank, a submerged endless belt movable therethrough, an amalgamated cylinder within the tank and above the belt and adapted to discharge thereon, connections between the belt and amalgamated drum wherebythe two move in unison, means for delivering separated material to the surface of the cylinder, a final discharge and a second amalgamated drum proximate thereto.

3. The combination in a gold-saving apparatus of the inclined screen, the amalgamated plate with transverse riflles located below the screen, a chute inclined reversely with relation to the screen and plate and extending inward toward the center of the apparatus and means slidably supporting the inner-end of the chute and adapted to receive a discharge from the lower end of said plate, a revoluble, amalgamated cylinder upon which material is delivered from the lower end of the chute, a water-tank in which the lower portion of said cylinder is submerged, and an endless traveling belt movable through said tank below the cylinder to convey away material discharged thereon.

4:. The combination in a gold-saving apparatus of the inclined screen and amalgamated plate having transverse rifiies located below said screen, a chute adapted to receive material from thelower end of the plate, said screen-plate and chute being united together, and said chute inclined reversely with relation to the screen and plate and extending inwardly beneath the plate, and having its inner end slidably supported, a mechanism by which a longitudinally-reciprocating motion of these parts is eitected, a revoluble amalgamated cylinder located beneath the discharge end of the chute, a tank within which the lower part of said cylinder is submerged,

IIO

ceases an endless traveling belt movable through the tank below the cylinder, and a pumping mechanism by which water is raised and discharged into the upper part of the apparatus.

5. The combination in a gold-saving apparatus of an inclined screen, a similarly-inclined amalgamated plate having transverse riffles located below the screen, an inclined chute connected with and receiving discharge from the plate, and extending inwardly beneath the plate and inclined toward the center of the apparatus, a revoluble silvered drum upon which the chute discharges, an endless traveling belt, upon which the waste material is received below the drum and continuously conveyed away, a water-tank inclosing the WHITE WOLF M. HIOKEY.

Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, JEssIE C. BRODIE. 

